ten months

'

dearest sweetpea,

you are such a little person now! walking and talking are the only things holding you back from full toddlerhood, and it's amazing (and a little bit terrifying) to watch how quickly you're developing beyond the tabula rasa of babyhood. you're now crawling all over the house, pulling up to your knees, cruising along the furniture if we help you stand up, and somehow, consistently intrigued by the most dangerous or messy things you can find (Kaiser's water dish, the grate under the refrigerator, cupboard doors and the contents therein).

you're still rocking the two-tooth grin, but your mealtimes are beginning to follow a more grown-up routine. you drink a 5 oz bottle as soon as you wake up, followed by a breakfast of pureed fruit or oatmeal, then an hour later or so you'll feed yourself scrambled eggs or more fruit. you get another bottle around 10 or 11 am, then blended veggies, our leftovers, or a jar of a Gerber meat dinner. around 2, you have another bottle followed by a snack of avocado, crunchies, cheerios, or an arrowroot biscuit. dinner is around 6 pm and then you have another bottle to top you off before bed. the biggest adjustment this month (for me at least - you don't seem to be too bothered by it) is that we are no longer nursing regularly. my supply was dwindling and dwindling until i was only pumping a few ounces over the course of the entire work day, and no matter how long you nursed during each session when we were home together, you were still hungry. i feel so much better knowing that you are getting enough nutrition, and we still have snuggle-time before bed. i had wanted to breastfeed you at least until age 1 and then however long you seemed interested in it after that, but i guess my body had other plans! 

i think we can officially say that your first word is "pup-pup". you whisper it very excitedly whenever you see Kaiser, and a few weeks ago, a commercial for dog food came on the TV and you shouted "pup-pup!" when they showed a dog running across the screen. i have to say that you sometimes call the cats "pup-pup" too, but you also say "ti-ti" when you see them, so i think you may be trying to say "kitty". you absolutely love music and will bounce up and down and clap when i sing your favorites ("If You're Happy And You Know It", "My God Is So Great", "Itsy Bitsy Spider"). if we say "yay!" you start clapping, and you play peek-a-boo by yourself now, although sometimes you cover your forehead or your eyebrows instead of your eyes, but you're so proud of yourself when you fling your arms out and we say "peek-a-boo"! we're still working on the signs for "please" and "more". you make the sign for "more" quite a bit, and one time you looked at my plate of food and made the sign for "please". 

the highlight of your entire month was when Father Aron brought you your very own classic car to ride. you love riding fast. as soon as we would take a little break, you'd start rocking back and forth to try to get the car going again. you are your daddy's daughter! 

you got to move into your big-girl convertible car seat this month too. even though you're still our little peanut at 15 lbs 12 oz at your nine-month checkup, you were getting a little heavy to tote around in the infant carrier, so we made the switch. you love that now you can see yourself in the mirror i have attached to the seat back, and every time i buckle you in, you wave and laugh at the baby.

it's Thursday afternoon as i type this (ahead of schedule for once in my life!), and in a few hours, we'll be heading to church for choir rehearsal. you play in the pack'n'play with some quiet toys while we practice, and on Sunday mornings, various friends watch you during mass so i can sing while your daddy plays the organ and conducts the choir. one day, i hope you'll join us in making beautiful music of your own!